by Georg Purvis
November 1992 (CD): ‘Back To The Light’ / ‘Nothin’ But Blue’ / ‘Blues Breaker’ (CDR 6329) [19]
June 1993 (12”/CD): ‘Resurrection’ (edit) / ‘Love Token’ (edit) / ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’ (live) (12RPD 6351/ CDRS 6351) [23]
June 1993 (CD): ‘Resurrection’ / ‘Driven By You Two’ / ‘Back To The Light’ (live on The Tonight Show) / ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ (live on The Tonight Show) (CDR 6351) [23]
December 1993: ‘Last Horizon’ (edit) / “39 / Let Your Heart Rule Your Head’ (live) (R 6371) [51]
December 1993 (CD): ‘Last Horizon’ (edit) / ‘Last Horizon’ (live) / ‘We Will Rock You’ (live) / ‘Last Horizon’ (CDR6371) [51]
March 1995 (CD): ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ (mastermix) / ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ (sad bit) / ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ (white trouser) / ‘The Amazing Spiderperson’ (brown trouser) / ‘The Amazing DJ Perk’ (favourite strings) (CDR6404) [35]
March 1995 (12”): ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ (mastermix) / ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ (sad bit) / ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ (white trouser) (12RPD 6404) [35]
March 1995 (cassette): ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ (mastermix) / ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ (sad bit) (TCR 6404) [35]
May 1998: ‘The Business’ (Rock on Cozy mix) / ‘Maybe Baby’ (R 6498) [51]
May 1998 (CD): ‘The Business’ (Rock on Cozy mix) / ‘Maybe Baby’ / ‘Brian Talks’ / ‘Enhanced Multimedia Section’ (CDR6498) [51]
August 1998 (7”/CD): ‘Why Don’t We Try Again?’ / ‘Only Make Believe’ / ‘F.B.I.’ (8860587/CDR 6504) [44]
ROGER TAYLOR
August 1977: ‘I Wanna Testify’ / ‘Turn On The TV’ (EMI 2679)
April 1981: ‘Future Management’ / ‘Laugh Or Cry’ (EMI 5157) [49]
May 1981: ‘Let’s Get Crazy’ / ‘Laugh Or Cry’ (E47 151; USA only)
June 1981: ‘My Country’ (edit) / ‘Fun In Space’ (EMI 5200)
June 1984: ‘Man On Fire’ / ‘Killing Time’ (EMI 5478) [66]
June 1984 (12”): ‘Man On Fire (extended) ’ / ‘Killing Time’ (EMI 12EMI 5478) [66]
July 1984: ‘Man On Fire’ / ‘Killing Time’ (Capitol B-5364)
July 1984 (12”): ‘Man On Fire (extended) ’ / ‘I Cry For You (Love, Hope & Confusion) ’ / ‘It’s An Illusion’ (SPRO 9149/50)
August 1984: ‘Strange Frontier’ / ‘I Cry For You (Love, Hope & Confusion)’ (remix) / ‘Two Sharp Pencils (Get Bad)’ (12” only) (EMI 5490)
August 1984 (12”): ‘Strange Frontier’ (extended) / ‘I Cry For You (Love, Hope & Confusion)’ (ext ended) / ‘Two Sharp Pencils (Get Bad)’ (EMI 12 EMI 5490) [98]
September 1984: ‘Strange Frontier’ / ‘I Cry For You (Love, Hope & Confusion) ’ (B5420)
September 1984 (12”): ‘Strange Frontier’ / ‘Strange Frontier’ (extended) (SPRO 9258)
May 1994: ‘Nazis 1994’ / ‘Nazis 1994’ (radio remix) (R 6379) [22]
May 1994 (12”): ‘Nazis 1994’ (edit) / ‘Nazis 1994’ (radio mix) / ‘Nazis 1994’ (Makita mix) / ‘Nazis 1994’ (Big Science mix) (12RC 6379) [22]
May 1994 (CD): ‘Nazis 1994’ (edit) / ‘Nazis 1994’ (radio mix) / ‘Nazis 1994’ (kick mix) / ‘Nazis 1994’ (Schindler’s mix) / ‘Nazis 1994’ (Makita mix) / ‘Nazis 1994’ (Big Science mix) (CDR 6379) [22]
October 1994: ‘Foreign Sand’ (edit) / “You Had To Be There” (R 6389) [26]
October 1994 (12”): ‘Foreign Sand’ (edit) / “You Had To Be There” / ‘Foreign Sand’ / ‘Final Destination’ (12R 6389) [26]
October 1994 (CD): ‘Foreign Sand’ (edit) / “You Had To Be There” / ‘Foreign Sand’ / ‘Final Destination’ (CDR 6389) [26]
November 1994: ‘Happiness?’ / ‘Ride The Wild Wind’ (live) (R 6399) [32]
November 1994 (12”): ‘Happiness?’ / ‘Dear Mr Murdoch’ / ‘Everybody Hurts Sometime’ (live) / ‘Old Friends’ (live) (12R 6399) [32]
November 1994 (CD): ‘Happiness?’ / ‘Loneliness...’ / ‘Dear Mr Murdoch’ / ‘I Want To Break Free’ (live) (CDR 6399) [32]
October 1998: ‘Pressure On’ (edit) / ‘People On Streets’ (mashed) / ‘Tonight’ (Dub Sangria) (R 6507) [45]
October 1998 (CD): ‘Pressure On’ (edit) / ‘People On Streets’ (mashed) / ‘Tonight’ (Dub Sangria) (CDR 6507) [45]
October 1998 (CD): ‘Pressure On’ (edit) / ‘Dear Mr Murdoch’ / ‘Keep A Knockin” (CDRS 6507) [45]
April 1999: ‘Surrender’ (radio mix) / ‘London Town, C’mon Down’ [38]
April 1999 (CD): ‘Surrender’ (radio mix) / ‘A Nation Of Haircuts’ (club cut) / ‘London Town, C’mon Down’ (edit) (CDR 6517) [38]
April 1999 (CD): ‘Surrender’ (live) / ‘No More Fun’ (live) / ‘Tonight’ (live) / ‘Surrender’ (enhanced live video) (CDR 6517) [38]
November 2009 (download): ‘The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken)’
January 2010 (CD): ‘The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken)’ / ‘The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken)’ (Almost Completely Nude mix) / ‘The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken)’ (video) (NJ1001)
FELIX + ARTY
August 2006 (download): ‘Woman You’re So Beautiful (But Still A Pain In The Ass)’ (main mix) / ‘Woman You’re So Beautiful (But Still A Pain In The Ass)’ (dance mix) / ‘Woman You’re So Beautiful (But Still A Pain In The Ass)’ (mad mix)
THE CROSS
October 1987: ‘Cowboys And Indians’ (edit) / ‘Love Lies Bleeding (She Was A Wicked, Wily Waitress) ’ (VS 1007) [74]
October 1987 (12”): ‘Cowboys And Indians’ / ‘Love Lies Bleeding (She Was A Wicked, Wily Waitress) ’ (VST 1007) [74]
October 1987 (CD): ‘Cowboys And Indians’ / ‘Cowboys And Indians’ (edit) / ‘Love Lies Bleeding (She Was A Wicked, Wily Waitress)’ (Virgin CDEP 10) [74]
January 1988: ‘Shove It!’ / ‘Rough Justice’ (VS 1026) [82]
January 1988 (12”): ‘Shove It!’ (extended) / ‘Rough Justice’ / ‘Shove It’! (Metropolix mix) (VST 1026) [82]
January 1988 (CD): ‘Shove It!’ / ‘Rough Justice’ / ‘Cowboys And Indians’ / ‘Shove It!’ (extended) (Virgin CDEP 20) [82]
February 1988: ‘Shove It!’ / ‘Feel The Force’ (Virgin USA 7 99327; USA only)
April 1988: ‘Heaven For Everyone’ / ‘Love On A Tightrope (Like An Animal) ’ (VS 1062) [84]
April 1988 (12”): ‘Heaven For Everyone’ / ‘Love On A Tightrope (Like An Animal)’ / ‘Contact’ (VST 1062) [84]
July 1988: ‘Manipulator’ / ‘Stand Up For Love’ (VS 1100)
July 1988 (12”): ‘Manipulator’ (extended) / ‘Stand Up For Love’ / ‘Manipulator’ (VST 1100)
May 1990: ‘Power To Love’ / ‘Passion For Trash’ (R 6251) [83]
May 1990 (12”): ‘Power To Love’ (extended) / ‘Passion For Trash’ / ‘Power To Love’ (R 6251) [83]
May 1990 (CD): ‘Power To Love’ (extended) / ‘Passion For Trash’ (Macrae) / ‘Power To Love’ (CDR 6251) [83]
JOHN DEACON
March 1986: ‘No Turning Back’ / ‘No Turning Back’ (Chocs Away mix) (MCA 1057)
March 1986 (12”): ‘No Turning Back’ / ‘No Turning Back’ (Chocs Away mix) / ‘No Turning Back’ (Joystick mix) (MCAT 1057)
AFTERWORD
GOT TO FOLLOW THAT DREAM
As I write this, Queen are more prevalent than ever. Since Brian May and Roger Taylor teamed up with Paul Rodgers in 2004, their status has increased in the music world, all because of an intensive world tour that allowed fans to see them in countries that the original four piece hadn’t been able to perform in. Of course, it wasn’t the real Queen, which was a constant reminder by detractors of the project, but it allowed Brian and Roger to once again perform for a large audience and write an album’s worth of new material. For Brian, it was the former that was the most thrilling; he may lack the command of an audience that Freddie Mercury had, but as a guitarist, his charisma is engaging and always inventive, and being able to play the big hits for a big crowd was artistically fulfil
ling for him. But at the end of the day, his passions lie in non-music-related endeavours, whether it was attaining his long-standing goal of receiving his PhD in astrophysics, or to save all god’s creatures, great and small, from the indignity of man.
For Roger, it was creating new music that gave him the biggest thrill, and it was the process of writing and recording The Cosmos Rocks that was especially fulfilling. It’s no surprise that his five songs on that album were the most adventurous and engaging, and that the experience has left him with a thirst for more. With the release of ‘The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken)’ in November 2009, Roger has announced that he’s working on a solo album, his first since Electric Fire, and that he plans on continuing to write and perform anywhere he can. Stirred from his ennui of occasionally showing up to a We Will Rock You musical opening by Brian’s side, Roger has had the creative fire lit beneath him, and it’s especially exciting to see what direction he goes in.
As for John Deacon, the unflinching, rock-steady bassist with a savvy business command, he couldn’t perceive of Queen without Freddie, and effectively retired from the music industry in 1997, after contributing bass to ‘No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)’. Despite some fabricated jabs at his former bandmates and an unsurprising carnal interest in scantily-clad women, John has given his silent blessing to all that Brian and Roger do, preferring to spend his time on the golf course and with his children than on a stage or in a recording studio. Occasionally spotted at a We Will Rock You premiere or in the wedding party of one of his children, John is healthy and happy to be away from the spotlight glare.
Queen persists with the revitalization of their back catalogue, with the announcement in 2010 that they were jumping ship to Universal Records, after a lifelong association with EMI. The move wasn’t entirely surprising; EMI’s other big acts, Paul McCartney, Radiohead and The Rolling Stones all walked away after private equity group Terra Firma bought the struggling record label. The general consensus was that EMI had stagnated, and was more interested in turning a profit than encouraging creativity; Queen was one of the acts that followed suit, searching for another company that was more in line with their ways of thinking. Rumours circulated for a while over which label would swoop up Queen, before it was announced that Universal Records was Queen’s new home, placed on the subsidiary Island Records label. A rigorous campaign was implemented in 2011, with all fifteen studio albums being remastered and reissued in double-disc packages (as of this writing, the final batch is scheduled for a late September release, though no confirmed extras have been released yet) and unique album samplers to whet the appetites of casual and die-hard fans alike. Additionally, the Stormtrooper In Stilettos exhibit, which ran from 25 February 2011 until 12 March at London’s Old Truman Brewery, was a massive success, and showcased memorabilia from Queen’s early formative years, up until their Hyde Park gig in 1976. Over 20,000 curious visitors showed up, and the response was so positive that there are currently plans to take the exhibit on the road. On top of that, Queen’s fortieth anniversary celebrations have also set the wheels in motion for a Freddie Mercury biopic.
In keeping with the portrayals of such legends as Jim Morrison, Ritchie Valens, Johnny Cash and Ray Charles, the Freddie biopic, announced in September 2010 with Sacha Baron Cohen as the lead, is intended to show the commanding singer in a new light, and while shooting has yet to begin, reports indicate that the script will focus on the week leading up to Queen’s triumphant appearance at Live Aid.
The future remains bright for Queen, with their music and legacy firmly instilled in the public consciousness, to an almost inescapable degree. Even if Brian and Roger don’t play another note on record or on a stage, their status as a top-selling and successful act is indisputable, and will remain untouched for years. Even twenty years after his death, Freddie is still treated with reverence by fans and musicians (more begrudgingly by critics), and Queen’s discography continues to inspire musicians as diverse as The Darkness, Lady Gaga, Foo Fighters and My Chemical Romance. Queen’s staying power is undeniable, their countless records – physical and rewarded – untouchable, their draw unavoidable. Despite some questionable collaborations after Freddie’s death, their legacy is in safe hands, with Brian and Roger keeping their past alive with an eye rooted on the future.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Blake, Mark: Is This The Real Life? The Untold Story Of Queen (Da Capo Press, 2010)
Brooks, Greg, Queen Live: A Concert Documentary (Omnibus Press, 1995; revised 2005)
Brooks, Greg, sleeve-notes for The Freddie Mercury Collection (EMI, 2000)
Dean, Ken, Queen: The New Visual Documentary (Omnibus Press, 1992)
Freestone, Peter with David Evans, Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Memoir (Omnibus Press, 1998)
Gunn, Jacky and Jim Jenkins, Queen: As It Began (Hyperion, 1992)
Hodkinson, Mark, The Early Years (Omnibus Press, 1995; revised 2004)
Hogan, Peter K., The Complete Guide To The Music Of Queen (Omnibus Press, 1994)
Jackson, Laura, Queen and I: The Brian May Story (Smith Gryphon, 1994)
Lewry, Peter and Nigel Goodall, The Ultimate Queen (Simon & Schuster, 1998)
Lowe, Jacques, Queen’s Greatest Pix (Quartet Books, 1981)
Nester, Daniel, God Save My Queen: A Tribute (Soft Skull Press, 2003)
Nester, Daniel, God Save My Queen II: The Show Must Go On (Soft Skull Press, 2004)
Power, Martin, Queen: The Complete Guide To Their Music (Omnibus Press, 2006)
Rider, Stephen, These Are The Days Of Our Lives: The Essential Queen Biography (Castle Communications, 1993)
St Michael, Mick, Queen: In Their Own Words (Omnibus Press, 1992)
Sutcliffe, Phil, The Ultimate Illustrated History Of The Crown Kings Of Rock (Voyageur Press, 2009)
Over the years, many books have been published about Queen, but few have been able to expand on As It Began, written by Jacky Gunn (now Smith) and Jim Jenkins. Because it features an impartial look at Queen’s career, usually downplaying the raunchier or more controversial events, it’s still the place to start since it simply tells the story. Additionally, it doesn’t dwell on Freddie’s sexuality or final days, since it was written mainly in the late 1980s and early 1990s, shortly before the singer’s death.
In 1995, two meticulously researched books were published with contrasting subject matter and offering something new: Mark Hodkinson’s The Early Years and Greg Brooks’ Queen Live: A Concert Documentary. The former was a fascinating tome chronicling the pre-‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ days, from each member’s early bands to Queen’s formative years, with enough information to overwhelm even the most ardent fan. The latter explored a subject that few had attempted before: Queen’s live shows, which were always spectacles to behold. However, the book contained several errors that would be discovered only with the benefit of subsequent research – errors, unfortunately, not rectified in the book’s 2005 update. Despite fans offering corrections and Brooks’ subsequent experience as Queen’s official archivist, only the concerts performed in 1979 were given a complete overhaul, even though fans such as Martin Skála, Bob Wegner, Erin and Pieter Cargill, and countless others on the internet, devote time and energy to make sure such information is accurate and readily available.
For a firsthand account, Peter ‘Phoebe’ Freestone’s Freddie Mercury is a superb read, with many insider stories on just what taking care of the man was like. Inevitably, it becomes sombre toward the end, but most of the time it’s a lighthearted and often amusing book. Daniel Nester’s two books, God Save My Queen and God Save My Queen II, are endearing, touching and humorous hybrids of prose and memoir, chronicling the American fan’s obsession (and latter-day frustration) with the band, their albums and their absence from US airwaves and stages. A book devoted to Queen’s discography is presently in the works, compiled by Greg Brooks and Brian May; Brian was evidently an avid collector of his own band’s memorabilia, acquiring everything fro
m standard single releases to curios like a replica of the robot from News Of The World. Tentatively titled I Want It All!, the book has been on and off the scheduled-to-be-released list since 2004, and, much like Gerry Stickells’ Roadworks (a tell-all book of Queen’s days on the road initially announced for a 1996 publication date, but pushed back and quietly forgotten about), this book seems to have been put on the backburner for now.
Two books appeared in anticipation of Queen’s fortieth anniversary, and both are excellent. Phil Sutcliffe’s The Ultimate Illustrated History Of The Crown Kings Of Rock, awkward title notwithstanding, is an embarrassment of riches, with each page stuffed with text, rare images and memorabilia, while Mark Blake’s Is This The Real Life? is a warts-and-all account of Queen’s history. At the time of writing (spring 2011), three more books are due for publication: 40 Years Of Queen (Goodman Books) by Harry Doherty is an expansive (and expensive) box set that includes reproduction memorabilia and was compiled with the full co-operation of the band, and On Camera, Off Guard: 1969–1982 (Pavillion Books) by Mark Hayward is a compilation of rare and unpublished photos, with the photographers offering anecdotes and recollections of the images. Most impressive will be Peter “Ratty” Hince’s Queen Unseen (John Blake Publishing Ltd), to be published in October 2011 and, judging by his fantastic pictures that have been reprinted in various official and unofficial publications alike, Ratty’s insight and photographic expertise will be the envy of budding writers and photographers alike.
INTERNET
With the internet’s booming popularity in the early 2000s, it’s not surprising that several hundred Queen fan pages popped up, most of dubious quality or intent. Almost all sites allow for optimal interaction between fans, and I count myself as happy and proud to have discussed (and argued!) with some of the top Queen collectors and most enthusiastic and passionate Queen fans on some of these sites. The following are absolutely essential sites to visit for information, and should be bookmarked by casual and die-hard Queen fans alike.
